Aussie cricket star Warne banned for T20 Big Bash clash

AP, BRISBANE, Australia

Tue, Jan 08, 2013 - Page 19

Shane Warne has been banned for one game and fined for a physical clash with Marlon Samuels in a domestic Twenty20 match on Sunday.

Cricket Australia’s chief executive virtually wrote off the incident — which involved Warne tugging Samuels’ shirt and using obscene language and the West Indian allrounder hurling his bat — as a heat-of-the-moment flare up.

Warne was suspended for one match and fined US$4,500 after being found guilty of three of the four misconduct charges arising from the confrontation during the Melbourne derby between the Stars and Renegades.

Warne complained about the severity of the sanction following a hearing yesterday, but did not appeal the ban.

He was found guilty of making “inappropriate and deliberate physical contact” with Samuels, and of using obscene or offensive language and dissent at an umpire’s decision. Samuels is facing charges of “unbecoming behavior” for throwing his bat and making inappropriate and deliberate physical contact.

Warne was cleared of deliberately throwing the ball at Samuels in an inappropriate or dangerous manner.

“I’m very conscious of the image of the game,” Warne said. “I’m disappointed in some of my actions last night. Also I’m pretty disappointed with the severity of the penalties too. That was pretty harsh.”

The Renegades sealed a home semi-final in the Big Bash with a win in front of 46,681 people at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, but the match was overshadowed by the running battle between Warne and Samuels.

CA chief executive James Sutherland said he took a dim view of the breaches, and did not condone the behavior, but was not entirely scathing of the players.

“To be honest, it looked like two teams playing in front of a very big crowd in a highly charged environment, with a lot of stake,” he told reporters. “These sort of things are isolated incidents.”

Warne swore at Samuels, then tugged Samuels’ shirt at the end of an over during the Renegades’ run chase. He was belatedly responding to an incident in the Stars’ innings, in which Samuels was accused of holding back David Hussey as he attempted a run.

After the tugging episode, Warne was fielding when he hit Samuels with an underarm throw and the West Indies allrounder responded by hurling his bat down the pitch, forcing the umpires to intervene to restore calm.